Coupl'a questions: Has Ford imposed tax increases to help battle inflation? And if so, do the Democrats have a more Keynesian approach of lower middle class tax cuts and economic stimulus?

President Ford's proposal to increase taxes on the wealthy was nearly realized but his spending cuts were not. The Tax Reform Act of 1979 (introduced as the Fair and Just Taxation Act of 1979) was passed over Ford's objections. However, the 5% increase is permanent.

Scoop has called for a "large stimulative public works program" to "rebuild our nation and put people to work" but has yet to include any specifics, also stating he would be willing to "work with Republicans."

Any large and sweeping tax cut is considered dead on arrival after the Kemp-Roth debacle.

Following the Republican National Convention and the Vice Presidential selection of Margaret Heckler, Vice President Baker received a moderate bounce in the polls and cut into Jackson’s lead. Being the incumbent party, Republicans had the edge in that their convention was last, and as such their attacks went without primetime-covered rebuttal.

However, as the campaign progressed the tides continued to turn against the Grand Old Party. The Iran Hostage crisis continued to be an albatross on the already dim fortunes of Baker, but it was merely exacerbated by day after day of congressional hearings, with the red flags of some sort of cover-up rising. During the debates, Jackson never impugned the Vice President’s integrity, but the implications were there.

The Democratic National Committee put forth most of its efforts into a “national strategy”, as their numbers in Congress had reached close to their maximum capacity. Senator Jackson began to court the vaunted Republican strongholds in the Rockies and the Plains, hoping to bolster down-ticket numbers for congressional Democrats.

The South had initially looked to be more competitive than in the previous election, with the Republican being a Southerner himself. However, with the Iran Hostage crisis stoking nationalist sentiments and the pro-life leanings of Jackson (Baker was pro-choice) the South began to gravitate heavily to Jackson in October, and even their redoubts in southern cities such as Palm Beach, Mobile, and Atlanta weren’t a sure thing.

Actually, Baker personally did much better in urban areas than some winning Republicans do. That was intentional.

Despite a shellacing in the South, Baker was manage to reach out and touch areas that used to vote Republican - the urban professionals/businessmen, in areas such as Mobile, Palm Beach (which he lost by an inch) etc. He'd have won Dallas without Bentsen on the ticket and ran ahead of Ford in Atlanta.

Actually, Baker personally did much better in urban areas than some winning Republicans do. That was intentional.

Despite a shellacing in the South, Baker was manage to reach out and touch areas that used to vote Republican - the urban professionals/businessmen, in areas such as Mobile, Palm Beach (which he lost by an inch) etc. He'd have won Dallas without Bentsen on the ticket and ran ahead of Ford in Atlanta.

Actually, Baker personally did much better in urban areas than some winning Republicans do. That was intentional.

Despite a shellacing in the South, Baker was manage to reach out and touch areas that used to vote Republican - the urban professionals/businessmen, in areas such as Mobile, Palm Beach (which he lost by an inch) etc. He'd have won Dallas without Bentsen on the ticket and ran ahead of Ford in Atlanta.

Who told you Mobile is still uber-duper Republican in this universe?

Oh, Jackson carried Dent County. What a craphole.

Ford won it in '76, and in the rare instance of a competitive election in AL, Mobile was a cornerstone of pretty much any AL Republican's support at the time. In a sense, Baker is a "favorite son" of the urban white Southern areas.

Much like their presidential ticket, 1980 proved to be a crushing defeat for down-ballot Republicans as well. Twenty-two Republican seats were flipped to the Democrats, and in addition the Democrats netted four Senate seats. Vice President Baker dragged down fellow Republicans with him like a drowning man, and Democrats saw their largest majorities since the thirties.

President Scoop Jackson was elected in November with an overwhelming mandate, laying claim to a victory on par with the last Democratic president, Lyndon Johnson. Concurrently, Democrats gained a score of seats in the House of Representatives and broke the seventy-mark in the Senate. Having been inaugurated with approvals in the sixties, the Washingtonian was bestowed with great political capital. How has he spent it?

Designing a cabinet to be representative of his base of support was problematic in itself. Despite a few concessions to liberals in the form of Robert Eisner and Adlai Stevenson, no body assaulted his cabinet picks more than the liberals themselves. Senator Jefferson Dent was quoted to have privately called it “an unadulterated buy-out by Boeing,” and did not vote to confirm over half of the nominees. Despite that fact, the President’s picks were confirmed after some gridlock.

Furthermore, the President had his work cut out for him in reconciling his own agenda with that of the liberals in Congress. Citing high unemployment and the hostage crisis in Iran, he unveiled his economic plan, dubbed “The Fortify America” act. The Fortify America Act, or Long-Seith, gave billions in bloc-grants to the defense industry, on the condition that they greatly increase hires. Long-Seith also exempted defense-manufacturing plants from many regulatory requirements, with the tentative goal of boosting construction and labor in tandem.

Just a month after inauguration, the President took the Iranians to task concerning the hostages. However, the Iranian government was largely unresponsive or apathetic, and in Iranian media the hijackers were emboldened by the situation. Determined to not be bogged down in the same fashion that the Republicans were, Congress passed a resolution “authorizing the President to use military force for up to ninety days” vis-à-vis Iran, in hopes of leveraging pressure on Iran to release the hostages. His efforts bore no fruit, and no successful negotiation is in sight.

I believe that the Jimmy Carter's victory in 1976 actually did the Republicans a HUGE favor IRL. Namely, the presence of a Democrat in office quickly eroded the public memory of Watergate. With Ford in office for another term, along with the bumbling of the Iran Hostage Crisis on a Republican President's watch, the memory of Watergate is probably fresh on the minds of the voting public. It'd be kind of like how Grant's second term in office reminded people of the corruption going on in his administration and in 1874 the Republican Party got a huge ass kicking when just a few years earlier they had supermajority status.

I believe that the Jimmy Carter's victory in 1976 actually did the Republicans a HUGE favor IRL. Namely, the presence of a Democrat in office quickly eroded the public memory of Watergate. With Ford in office for another term, along with the bumbling of the Iran Hostage Crisis on a Republican President's watch, the memory of Watergate is probably fresh on the minds of the voting public. It'd be kind of like how Grant's second term in office reminded people of the corruption going on in his administration and in 1874 the Republican Party got a huge ass kicking when just a few years earlier they had supermajority status.

The early eighties would represent a transformational time in the lives of both Thad and his peers. With a landslide presidential defeat and the largest Democratic majority since the Depression, Thad and his contemporaries frequently found themselves to be in poor spirits. While feeling melancholy on most days, Thad would find himself reciting the adage, “The strongest steel is forged from the hottest fire.” While in correspondence, his new friend Areus was sure to remind him of that with a suspicious optimism.

Not all of his Republican colleagues were handling it quite as well. While his despondence and uncertainty was detriment only to his managerial work, Thad’s friend Hank Stevenson had been handling it much worse. Even as they departed the Republican National Convention, Hank had seemed much more tense and hostile to Thad than before. Hank had grown bitter and malicious, jeering at Thad over his senate loss or angrily remonstrate him for his candidate of choice. Under the duress of the times, Thad found himself reciprocating and the two barely spoke.

Similarly, Hank’s personal life seemed to have hit the skids. He was frequently absent from work and merely stayed employed by virtue of filial ties. Whenever in sight, he looked gaunt, sweaty, and pale, eyes darting from left to right in paranoia. Even his barrel-sized chest had shrunken in, and his natural aura of endearment and comfort had worn off.

Reluctant to resign himself to be a floor manager at the brewery for the rest of his days, Thad caught wind of Senator Ed Muskie’s retirement and filed to run for the open seat. Thad knew that it would be much less of a coronation with Republican prospects looking slightly better, but the biggest surprise was when he heard of a second candidate for the Republican nomination: Hank Stevenson.

Eh, I rather like where she is for now, as heir-apparent to the aging Ribicoff.

Anyway, to handicap some of those Democratic Senate pick-ups...

Arizona:

The retirement of Barry Goldwater pit the conservative Bob Stump against the even more conservative Evan Mecham. Mired in ethics problems and seen as a gadfly, Mecham is crushed by Stump, with the Socialist candidate gathering over 5% of the vote.

Oklahoma:

The moderate Wes Watkins defeats John Jarman.

Oregon:

Bob Packwood, unable to offset deficits in Eastern Oregon with Western Oregon, loses in his bid for a third-term to the hawkish Bob Duncan.

Pennsylvania:

John Murtha defeats Arlen Specter with solid margins in Western Pennsylvania.

Sorry if that was a bit brief, but I figured some explanation may have been in order.